


Puddles

by TwistedSamurai



Series: Experiment L0-435 [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst and Feels, Gen, Hojo isnt actually a jerk for once, Light Angst, Lucas still cares, Rain, Smoking, Warning: Hojo (Compilation of FFVII)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26068297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedSamurai/pseuds/TwistedSamurai
Summary: Lucas always enjoyed the rain. Whether it was just a little drizzle or a big storm. He'd be outside one way or another. But sitting with a smoke reminds him of another time he was out in the rain, jumping in the puddles.ORHojo is not actually a terrible parent to one of his experiments, for once.
Series: Experiment L0-435 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920907





	Puddles

Lucas stared out at the rain, watching as each drop hit the ground. With every single drop, he could feel his mood sinking just as low, and becoming even larger. Even with the smoke in his hand, the raven-haired Turk could only stare at it, watching the paper burn away and the smoke rising. He was honestly surprised that it had lasted as long as it had with the current downpour.

Red eyes slowly lifted, turning away from the tendrils of smoke to stare up at Headquarters. He had never had many goals and dreams, in his short life so far. The things he had thought of when growing up seemed almost superficial to him now, and finally a smile curled his lips. But it wasn’t a happy one. It was bleak and held a lot of unjoyous emotions.

The years Lucas had spent as a test subject, as he had told Tseng and the others, but there were still some things he hadn’t stated. Like when he was still only just starting in the labs, and the short few years before he was forced to undergo all of Hojo’s tests. All of the times he had spent actually running around the labs and laughing with a happy smile, getting under foot or just sitting patiently off to the side waiting for Hojo to finish.

Lucas’ smile faded as he closed his eyes, feeling the water running down his face. It had been a long time since he had been out in the rain like this, he realized, opening his eyes to look across towards the door. Although the last time he was out in weather like this… It was almost like he could see the memories right in front of him, as he took another drag of his smoke.

\- - -

“Lucas, stop jumping in the puddles. You’ll catch a cold if you keep that up.” Hojo scolded, moving over, and holding out the umbrella for Lucas. The small raven-haired child beamed up at him, taking it. Lucas moved over to stand almost beside him, grabbing a hold of the scientist coat as they made their way through the parking lot.

“I’m not gonna get sick Dad. You’re here, and I know if you’re here I won’t even get a little sick.” Lucas replied, looking up at him. Despite only being three years old, he already had the body and mind of a seven-year-old. “Cause you always make people feel better.”

Hojo paused, glancing over as he led the way to the car. “That isn’t all that I do, Lucas.” He sighed softly, unlocking the car and opening the door. “Go ahead and get in. Your brother is probably already waiting for us at home.”

“Will I get to go to school too?” Lucas asked as he got in. “I know that I do school work at the labs but I wanna go to an actual school! Like Luke!” He whined.

“I’ve already told you, Lucas… You’re doing far more work than you ever would going to school… Please make sure you buckle in.” Hojo sighed as he set the umbrellas on the floor and shut the door. Lucas stuck out his tongue as he buckled in, not missing the chuckle as the door shut.

\- - -

“Lucas? You’re going to catch a cold if you stay out here like this.” Red eyes flicked up in surprise, focusing on the red head who dropped his jacket on his head. “I mean, have a smoke but don’t hang out here in the rain where you’ll get sick.”

“Reno?” Lucas frowned as he tossed the butt into the nearby trash. “Wait, why are you out here?” He asked, lifting his head. Seeing how soaked Reno was, he pulled off the jacket, but only received a waved hand in reply. Lucas huffed softly, lowering it again when he realized that there was no way the red head was going to take it back.

Blue eyes studied him for a moment, before Reno wrapped an arm around him. He grinned, pulling Lucas towards the door and wrapping the jacket around himself. “Well, I came out here because a certain someone forgot he has a report due from a mission last week…?”

“Oh… Yeah. The stake out- it wasn’t anything.” Lucas paused, looking up at Reno. “You were there too!” He protested as he was dragged inside. Lucas tried to pout and not smile even as he felt it start to curve his lips up. He huffed a bit once they made their way back inside. He stopped at the door and twisted his hair, watching the water leave a small puddle near the door. “You’re lucky, y’know, Reno. Your hair is a lot thinner than mine. This is gonna take like an hour to dry if I’m lucky.” He whined.

“Yeah but still not fun when it gets soaked… You wait here. Try not to soak the entire entry, none of them would really like to have two trails of water to clean up.” The second in command winked before heading off to find towels. Lucas shook his head a bit, smiling as he moved just out of the doorway.

“- worst time to call me into the labs, honestly… Can’t do it themselves…” Lucas froze as he heard the grumbling when the doors opened and glanced over. Hojo didn’t seem to notice him at first as he shook his umbrella. The Turk was tense for a moment, starting to relax when it seemed like Hojo would walk past him, but he wheezed as the black umbrella was shoved at him. “I’ve told you before. Don’t stand in the rain, you’ll get sick. I don’t have time to deal with you at all this week. Use an umbrella.”

Lucas’ jaw dropped as Hojo headed off in a hurry without another word. He stared after the scientist long after he had disappeared, holding the umbrella against his chest. After a few seconds he laughed softly, putting a hand over his mouth when Reno came back.

“Where’d you get that?” Reno frowned, dropping a towel on Lucas’ head.

“Why’re you so insistent on dropping things on my head?” Lucas huffed, gently elbowing him but holding the umbrella close. “I’ve gotta do something really quick… I’ll see you later.” He added before running off. He ignored Reno’s shout, taking the steps two at a time and nearly falling over as he slid in front of Hojo, who stopped and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m busy, boy, unlike you. Get out of my way-“ The man cut off in a sputter as Lucas suddenly hugged him, before heading down the hall. “What in-”

“Thanks, Dad.” Lucas waved a hand, waving over his shoulder with the umbrella. He glanced back to see Hojo smile a little and shake his head before continuing to the elevator up to the labs.

He headed down to the office, drying his hair as he sat at his desk and set the umbrella under it. A few times he glanced at it, while he worked, but the smile on his lips didn’t fade at all. A few sheets of blank paper were added to his stack of work, and when Hojo came into the office the next morning, there was a note neatly folded on top of his paperwork.

_‘Thanks again, Dad. I’ll stay out of the rain as best I can, but I don’t make any promises. The puddles are always fun to jump in.' _Lucas had signed his name at the bottom of it. Hojo let out a small chuckle, tucking it into his desk and picking up his notes for the day.__

__When the rain started again later he noticed that Lucas was once again out in the rain, umbrella propped up to keep it off of him as he smoked._ _


End file.
